Taurine detected using high-resolution magic angle spinning 1H nuclear magnetic resonance: A potential indicator of early myocardial infarction

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a unique non-invasive method for detecting cardiac metabolic changes. However, MRS in cardiac diagnosis is limited due to insensitivity and low efficiency. Taurine (Tau) is the most abundant free amino acid in the myocardium. We hypothesized that Tau levels may indicate myocardial ischemia and early infarction. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into seven groups according to different time points during the course of myocardial ischemia, which was induced by left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. Infarcted myocardial tissue was obtained for high-resolution magic angle spinning (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. Results were validated via high-performance liquid chromatography. The Tau levels in the ischemic myocardial tissue were reduced significantly within 5 min compared with those in the control group (relative ratio from 20.27±6.48 to 8.81±0.04, P<0.05) and were maintained for 6 h post-ischemia. Tau levels declined more markedly (56.5%) than creatine levels (48.5%) at 5 min after ligation. This suggests that Tau may have potential as an indicator in the early detection of myocardial ischemia by (1)H MRS.